Live Broadcast: My Blunt TCM Practice and My Patients Are Dying Online - Chapter 72

The sudden baldness caught all the online viewers completely off guard.

“She was quite good-looking before, how did she go bald?”

“The reality for female programmers, it’s pretty normal.”

“Stop joking, what company even hires female programmers these days? That’s nonsense.”

“So, do ghosts really exist in this world?”

“Oh no, I’m getting goosebumps. I feel so scared right now.”

Seeing that Lü Fang didn’t have a single hair on her head, Qin Jiang was also somewhat shocked.

“Your hair loss is this severe?”

Lü Fang said agitatedly, “Doctor, I never had a hair loss problem before! You can ask my husband, ask my parents, they all know.”

Her husband, Tang Ping, nodded. “It’s true, my wife was very healthy before. It’s just recently, we don’t know why, her health has been getting worse, and her hair has been falling out in clumps. It’s really exaggerated and scary—she grabs handfuls of it when she wakes up.”

Qin Jiang looked at Tang Ping. “And have you heard any knife-sharpening sounds recently?”

Tang Ping shook his head. “I haven’t heard any grinding sounds, but I have seen shadowy figures… And sometimes when we wake up in the morning, things in our house have been moved. For example, a cup that was definitely in the cupboard the night before is on the dining table the next morning, used, with water stains.”

After a moment’s silence, Qin Jiang asked, “In that case, why did you think to see a doctor first, instead of hiring a Taoist priest?”

Tang Ping smiled wryly. “We already invited a Taoist priest to our home. Spent tens of thousands. He rearranged the furniture, we joined in the ritual dances… it was useless. We saw how you, Dr. Qin, found the root of that child’s illness before, so we came to try our luck.”

Qin Jiang understood. This family saw him as a kind of witch doctor—someone who could not only treat illnesses but also solve feng shui problems, right?

Liu Yan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately changed the live stream’s subtitle on the computer:

“Ghostly Hair Loss at Midnight: Delusion or Reality?”

Even the cameraman couldn’t help but give Liu Yan a thumbs-up. Perfect, it had the vibe of those “Beyond Science” shows.

Seeing Lü Fang’s condition worsening, Qin Jiang got straight to the point: “You haven’t encountered a ghost; you’ve been poisoned.”

“Poisoned?”

Lü Fang shook her head repeatedly. “Impossible. I always cook and eat at home, never order takeout. How could I be poisoned?”

Qin Jiang explained patiently: “Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and also auditory and visual hallucinations—these are all symptoms of poisoning. Of course, the most direct evidence is that your liver and kidney functions have been severely impaired. If this progresses further, it will lead to combined liver and kidney failure. Your hair loss is also due to the poisoning.”

Qin Jiang asked, “What do you do for work?”

“I’m an accountant.”

“Where?” Qin Jiang pressed.

“At Jincheng Chemical Plant. I manage all the accounts for our factory.”

Hearing this, Qin Jiang immediately understood. He pointed to the QR code on the table. “Alright, scan to pay. The total is twenty-eight thousand. I’ll go prepare your medicine.”

The family of five had seen Qin Jiang’s videos before and knew his rule of payment before receiving medicine.

As soon as Qin Jiang entered the pharmacy to prepare the medicine, he heard the system prompt in his mind.

Ding.

Ding.

[Detected that the host spoke frankly to the patient, revealing the patient’s underlying illness, greatly assisting the patient. Task complete.]

[Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: Sterile Operating Room.]

As the system prompt ended, an antique-style door instantly appeared on the north wall of the pharmacy.

Qin Jiang was stunned.

Wow, this system is amazing! It can just give away a sterile operating room?

Driven by curiosity, Qin Jiang walked over and opened the door.

Originally, the backyard should have been behind this wall, but now, upon opening the door, it revealed a fully automated, high-tech sterile operating room!

Changing room, sterilization room, medicine room, operating room… All equipment was complete.

What surprised Qin Jiang the most was that this operating room was even equipped with four mechanical arms suspended from the ceiling.

According to the system introduction, these four mechanical arms were to assist him during surgery.

Meaning tasks like handing scissors, passing medicine, wiping sweat, assisting with sutures, and reporting vital signs could all be handled by the mechanical arms?

Qin Jiang was thrilled.

The main reason Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hasn’t flourished nowadays is its lack of focus on surgery; even historical records are brief. TCM primarily relies on herbal remedies and opposes cutting into the body, believing it damages meridians and affects future life.

But for some urgent injuries, surgery is necessary; you can’t just rely on drinking herbal medicine.

There were TCM practitioners in history who attempted surgery, like Hua Tuo. He was a legendary figure, daring to operate on people with the aid of his Mafeisan anesthetic. Of course, his end was also tragic.

“This is great. Now I can perform surgeries too.”

Qin Jiang carried the prepared medicine out of the pharmacy and handed it to Lü Fang. “There are ten small paper packets here. Drink one packet every day, with twelve hours between each packet.”

Lü Fang thanked him profusely but still asked, “Doctor, what poison did I actually ingest?”

“Thallium poisoning.”

Upon hearing “thallium poisoning,” Lü Fang’s face turned deathly pale. “How is that possible? Thallium is a controlled substance; how could I be poisoned with that?”

Lü Fang couldn’t understand. If it were pesticide residue on fruits or vegetables, she could comprehend. But thallium poisoning? That’s much harder to achieve.

Qin Jiang smiled slightly. “Whether it’s a controlled substance or not, if someone wants to get their hands on it, it’s still quite easy, don’t you think?”

Lü Fang suddenly understood. She stared intently at Qin Jiang. “Dr. Qin, are you saying someone intentionally poisoned me?”

Qin Jiang nodded. “You said you’re an accountant at a chemical plant. It shouldn’t be too difficult for your factory to obtain thallium, right? Someone who can get this substance and holds a grudge against you… I think it should be pretty easy to narrow down the suspect.”

Lü Fang looked as if struck by lightning. “I understand now. I understand everything. It must be that scoundrel Li Fugui trying to harm me!”

Tang Ping quickly reminded her from the side, “Honey, we’re live streaming. You can’t say things like that recklessly.”

“How is that reckless? Li Fugui previously asked me to cook the books for the factory. I refused. He must be the one trying to harm me! I’m calling the police right now. We can’t let him get away!”

Lü Fang angrily took out her phone to call the police.

Qin Jiang sighed. The poisoner was truly malicious. Thallium poisoning causes severe damage to the nervous system, not only leading to paralysis but also causing irreversible intellectual damage—easily turning a genius into someone with intellectual disabilities.

But what was even more frightening was that thallium is a controlled substance, very hard to obtain. If someone could use this to poison Lü Fang, they weren’t someone her ordinary family could easily deal with.

While Lü Fang stepped aside to call the police, Tang Ping said to Qin Jiang, “Dr. Qin, could you take a look at my father? He always says he feels dizzy and unwell, and his breath is very foul.”

Qin Jiang nodded and gestured for the old man standing over there to come sit down.